The Knife Thrower
by MySoapBox
Summary: The Amazing Francos, a Magician and his teenage daughter, have come into town to perform for the community center fundraiser. Chuck and Morgan are working as stage crew and Chuck is immediately curious about the mysterious girl.
1. Chapter 1

It was when the girl picked up the knife that Chuck stopped what he was doing. Chuck knew it was only a first rehearsal, but the entire magic act had been second rate at best. The _Amazing Francos_, constituted nothing more than one middle aged man with a thrift store top hat and cape, one teenage girl with a ruffled shirt, and some second rate tricks. Chuck had read enough books and done enough magic himself to know how every illusion was done. When the magician did the old 'pull handkerchiefs from his sleeves' trick Chuck just rolled his eyes. But it was when the disappearing cabinet shook as the girl exited through the secret panel in the back that Chuck had stopped watching all together and turned back to taping down lighting wire for the small community center hall.

But now - now the girl had taken a knife and the magician had taken his place in front of a painted plywood target. The magician took a large balloon, stuck it between his teeth and bent over so that the balloon was covering the bull's-eye.

"Do I have to, Dad?" the girl asked. It was the first words Chuck had heard the girl speak the whole rehearsal. She was probably about his age, 14 or so. She was skinny, with long blond hair down to the middle of her back and a gap between her front teeth. Chuck hadn't noticed the gap before, probably because the girl hadn't smiled.

"Just like in practice, darlin," the magician said encouragingly through clenched teeth.

Chuck felt a hand on his shoulder; it was Morgan. "Chuck, you done running the stage lights yet, I've got the spot…"

"Shhhh," Chuck said, indicating the stage. "It's finally getting exciting."

The girl raised her knife and paused. "But what if…"

"Becky! Just do it," the magician snapped.

The girl nodded her head, took a breath and held it. Chuck took a breath too, involuntarily, and then POP! It had all happened faster than Chuck could see: a quick flick of the wrist and then the knife was sticking out the board.

The magician spat the balloon out of his mouth and waved his cape as he bowed.

"Wow, that was pretty good," Morgan said to Chuck. "Maybe you and me should try that some time."

"Um…no. You about ready to plug these babies in?" Chuck asked indicating the lighting cables.

"Yeah, let me run the extension down here." Morgan turned and headed up the aisle.

"And now for the big finale," the magician announced with a flourish.

"Can't we skip this one?" the girl asked. Chuck thought she looked a little pale.

The magician walked over and grasped the girl by the chin, pulling her eyes up to meet his. "Nerves of steel, remember? People will see your fear; they can smell it. Don't you forget that." He let go of her and, reaching in his belt, pulled out several knives and handed them to the girl.

Chuck heard the girl muttering, "nerves of steel," over and over under her breath as her father took his position in front of the target.

"Just like we've practiced, now. Quickly. 1, 2, 3 and it's over," the magician called out. He raised his arms and legs spread-eagle over the bull's-eye. "And darlin, don't' forget to smile." Chuck thought he saw him wink.

The girl raised a knife in her right hand, fanning out the others in her left. Chuck counted five in all. She was shaking at first, but then she waited, one heartbeat, two. He saw her take a deep breath and hold it. Calmness seemed to overcome her; her eyes focused on the magician with a cold look of determination.

"Ha!" the girl puffed out as the first knife hit the board and then another. Thuank! Thuank! Thuank!

POP! FLASH! POP! POP! "AH!"

Just as the girl was throwing the fourth knife, the lights flashed a blinding blaze accompanied by loud pops and sizzles and then all the lights in the hall went black. It was the magician who had cried out.

Chuck, imagining the worst, dropped his gaff tape and stood, but in the sudden darkness, could see nothing but white flashes before his eyes. He heard the clang of a single knife on the floor and the rushed footfalls towards where the magician had been. "Daddy, are you ok?" the girl called out.

What followed was a long series of profanity; some of the words Chuck didn't even know.

A single fluorescent emergency light hummed to life above Chuck's head. He could see the grey image of the magician rushing towards him.

"What the hell did you do!" the magician raged, "You could have gotten me killed! Do you think this is some sort of game!"

Morgan came up behind Chuck. "Sir, It wasn't his fault. I plugged the spot light in and the thing just exploded."

The magician was close enough now that Chuck could see a small red spot of blood soaking through his white shirt and a tear at the magician's sleeve.

"If you two thought this little trick would be funny…"

"I'm really sorry," Chuck interrupted, "But it was an accident. I didn't even do anything. I was just watching."

"The wiring in this place is what, a hundred years old?" Morgan added.

The magician paused for a moment; Chuck could see him calming down. "Well, next time you see a knife throwing act, wait until it's over before you go plugging things in. Okay, kids?"

"Yes, sir," Chuck mumbled.

Morgan jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll go find the circuit breaker."

"And I'm going to the car to find a new shirt." The magician fingered the hole in his sleeve. "Be back in ten minutes," he said, turning to the girl who had followed behind him.

"Ok," the girl replied. "I'll start cleaning up."

"That's my princess." The magician kissed her on the forehead and walked towards the exit.

Chuck turned to watch the man as he pushed his way through the doors.

"His bark is worse than his bite."

"Hu?" Chuck turned back to the girl.

"I said that his bark is worse than his bite….when he was yelling just now."

"Yeah, I'm just glad he wasn't killed."

"It was his own fault."

"What was?"

"That he was cut. He's the one that moved, not me. I don't miss."

"But you looked so nervous."

"Stage fright; I hate people looking at me," she explained.

Chuck glanced around at the rows of empty chairs. "There was just me. Oh, and Morgan."

"You're people." She smiled shyly and then turned to go to the stage.

Chuck didn't know why, but suddenly he felt very glad that this girl considered him "people".

He followed her up to the stage and held out a flashlight to her. "Here this might help."

"Thanks." She clicked it on. Between the flashlight and the emergency light, Chuck could see well enough.

"So," Chuck said, "been in the magic business long?" The question sounded stupid, even to his own ears.

"It's something we do sometimes," she answered as she began picking up props. "My dad has always liked sleight of hand, that sort of thing."

"And you?" Chuck asked. He started adjusting the foot lights. He'd already set them, but it gave him an excuse to still be there.

"Not really, but he's my dad, so I go along."

"And your mom?" Chuck asked.

The girl turned from him to pack away some props in a brown leather bag. "She's not around."

"That's tough."

"Yeah, it is," she agreed.

" My mom took off a couple of years ago; so I know how it sucks," Chuck added.

She still didn't turn around, but she hadn't moved to put anything more away either. "Yeah," she finally said. "That's a good word for it." She quickly shoved the last of the props in the bag and, picking it up, turned to face Chuck.

"So are you like the stage crew guy around here, or what?" she asked, indicating the lights he had been fiddling with.

"Not really. When they needed help with the variety show fundraiser, we just volunteered.

"But you seem to know what you're doing,"

"Yeah, well, we're in the Audio-Visual club at school. Morgan's the president."

"Morgan?"

"Yeah, my friend. He went to go look for the circuit breaker."

"That short kid?"

"Yeah, that's him."

The girl started to walk off the stage. "I guess I better go find my dad. Thanks for the flashlight." She held it out to him.

"Yeah, sure." He reached for it, and his fingers brushed hers as she handed it to him. "Sorry again, about the lights thing."

She shrugged. "At least it made things exciting." She smiled at him.

Chuck's stomach did a flip flop. "Yeah, it did."

The lights in the hall clicked on and Chuck had to blink to adjust his eyes.

"I'm going to go find my dad now," she said.

The back door swung open and Morgan came walking in. "I found the box, and let me tell you, that thing is a mess; no wonder it blew," he called out to Chuck.

The girl passed him as she walked towards the exit. "Thanks for your help, Morgan."

Morgan smiled. "Anytime… um… what's your name?"

She spun to face them. "Becky, Becky Franco." Then she turned back and pushed her way through the door.

"Bye, Becky." Morgan called out to her. "That's one strange girl," he said softly turning to Chuck.

Chuck was still watching the door as it clicked closed. "Yeah…strange…" He shook his head, breaking himself out of his trance. "Well, I guess we have more work to do."

"You've got that right!" Morgan started up the aisle. "I'll go back and see if I can sort out the circuits, maybe we can put the spots on a different one. Hey, do you think we have an extension cord that could reach the bathroom?"

Chuck decided he better check all his connections one last time to make sure none of them were exacerbating their problems. As his eyes traced the wires down towards the stage, he caught sight of something blue against the grey carpet. He reached down and picked up what he recognized as one of those friendship bracelets the girls used to make back in elementary school. He marveled at the hundreds of little knots that made the pattern. It must have contained at least five different shades of zigzagging blue. It was right in the walkway and it hadn't been there before, so this must belong to the magician's daughter. Somehow he couldn't picture that a girl who threw knives with such deadly accuracy would have the patience to make something like this. It was just another facet to the mystery that was Becky Franco.

"Hey, Chuck," he heard his friend call, "can you give me a hand."

Chuck looked at the bracelet one last time, quickly shoved it into his pocket and headed towards the door.

* * *

><p><em>I haven't been around fanfiction for awhile but in honor of the ending if Chuck, I thought I'd dust off this unfinished story from my hard drive. I'm breaking my own rule and posting it unbetaed. I hope you enjoy. -MSB<em>


	2. Chapter 2

_The Knife Thrower Chapter 2. By MSB_

* * *

><p>As soon as the bell rang, indicating the end of the school day, Chuck gathered his books and headed toward his locker. A minute later, Morgan's head appeared from behind Chuck's locker door.<p>

"Hey, Wolfenstein 3D today?" he asked. "I read in Compute Gazette that if you pop the disk out right after you die…"

Chuck didn't hear much of what Morgan was saying. "No, sorry Morgan, I've got…uh… National Honors Society," he said zipping his backpack. "Maybe after dinner?" he added as he closed his locker and hurried off in the other direction.

After taking a roundabout way to the bike racks, Chuck was soon peddling towards the community center. He just needed to check the lights one last time, he told himself. And that circuit breaker, the breaker needed work too. And he didn't want Morgan to worry about it; he could take care of it himself. So what if the face of a certain magician's daughter kept coming to his mind all day, that didn't have anything to do with it. He was just being a good citizen. That's all.

He drove up the sidewalk to the community center and locked his bike in the rack.

"Hey, Mrs. Benson," Chuck said to the older woman who was sitting behind the front desk.

"Charles," she said, smiling. "I saw that you guys got the lights all set up for the talent show tomorrow night."

"We're having a little problem with the breakers, but I'm gonna to take a look at it."

The older woman nodded her head, "This old place is falling apart. That's why these fundraisers are so important. Did you know last year we brought in over ten thousand dollars?"

Chuck whistled. "That's a lot of money for a talent show."

"Oh, It's not the talent show, that's just to get people to come, it's the silent auction before the talent show that really brings in the money. And this year will be the best ever!"

"That's great Mrs. Benson. Hopefully I can patch this place together long enough to get through the show." Chuck waved at the woman and made his way to the double doors that led to the hall.

As he entered he heard the muffled voices of an argument behind the curtains of the stage.

"You said this would be the last time." If Chuck wasn't mistaken, that was Becky's voice.

"I know, but things change," a man's voice answered. He was sure it was the magician.

"Things always change. It's not fair."

"I know I promised that we'd settle down; I haven't forgotten. But darli'n, this one will make it all possible."

"That's what you said last time."

The magician's voice faltered. "I…I know… things have been rough sometimes…"

"Sometimes!" The girl's voice raised in pitch.

"But this is the big one. The pot at the end of our rainbow. The one that will make our dreams come true. After this weekend we'll have the start we need."

"I'm sick of this! Sick of your promises."

"I'm doing the best I can. Do you think this is easy?" The Magician's voice was getting angrier now.

"It's always been what you want. Your jobs. Your ideas. What about me? What about what I want."

"It's all for you. Every bit of it has been for you. Ever since your mother…"

"Don't you bring her into this."

"Why not? I was never good enough for her either. And now you're turning out to be just like her."

"I hate you!" Becky yelled.

Chuck saw the curtain rustle and before he could even think to hide, Becky came storming out from behind them, off the stage and down the aisle. Her eyes met his and she quickly turned away and rushed out the door. Not before he could see that she was crying. He wanted to go after her, but wasn't sure what he'd say. Still, he hated to see anyone cry, especially someone like Becky. He thought again of her bracelet buried deep in his jeans pocket.

"You there. Stage boy."

Chuck looked up and saw the magician standing on the stage. He was composed, like nothing had happened. "Chuck," Chuck supplied.

"Ah yes, well, Chuckles, I'm glad you're here, there are a few lighting cues I need to work out with you. And do you happen to have some WD40; the trap door on my disappearing cabinet seems to be sticking."

"Yeah, let me get it," Chuck said approaching the stage. He glanced back and thought of Becky. No chance of following her now.

An hour later after talking to Mrs. Benson about a few more supplies he needed, Chuck got on his bike and started to peddle home. He had kept a lookout for Becky, but had seen no sight of her. Wherever she had run away to, she was long gone now. Chuck turned the corner at the end of the block and peddled past the old Motor Inn. Just as he was about to cross the street, he heard a dull thump and then another. He stopped his bike, leaning on one leg, to listen. His pulse went up a little as he recognized the sound, so he turned his bike around and drove back towards the Motor Inn. He followed the sound between the rundown buildings towards the back. There beside the dumpster was Becky Franco. An old pallet was leaning up the back wall of the motel, with small throwing knives sticking out of some of the slats.

If she saw him approach, she made no acknowledgement.

"Hey," Chuck said.

She said nothing.

"Um…" Chuck stammered, "Remember me? From the community center?"

She didn't even glance his way. "Hey," she finally responded.

THWACK! Another knife seemed to sprout from the pallet.

"That's pretty cool," Chuck said, getting off his bike, and engaging the kick stand.

"Thanks." She walked up to the pallet and pulled her knives out one by one.

"Do you live around here?" Chuck asked. He wondered why he had never seen her at school.

Becky pointed one of her knives toward the motel in response.

"You're staying here?" Chuck clarified.

"We're just passing through," she said. "We're always just passing through," she mumbled more to herself than to him. She raised her arm, hand beside her ear, and then with one quick, fluid motion, she let one of the knives fly.

THWACK! It stuck strait out of the board.

Chuck tried to ignore the sharp metal objects. "That's gotta be tough," was all Chuck could think to say.

"Ya think?" Becky responded sarcastically.

Chuck swallowed hard. Maybe he was in over his head here. "Yeah," is all the response he managed. He shuffled his feet, kicking up gravel from the degrading black top.

THWACK!

This was not going as he has expected. Maybe it was better to just acknowledge the elephant in the room, Chuck thought. "I heard you and your dad talking a little while ago."

Becky said nothing, didn't even acknowledge what he had said.

THWACK!

Chuck continued, "Well, it's just…You know, sometimes when I'm upset, if I talk about it…"

"I'm not very good at talking" Becky said, her wrist flicking again.

THWACK!

"But…ya know…maybe if you tried…"

She spun to face him, one silver knife remaining in her left hand. "Look, you seem really nice and everything…" Her eyes were the bluest eyes he had ever seen. "…but you don't even know me, so butt out!"

"You're right. Sorry." Chuck turned and headed for his bicycle.

THWACK!

Deflated, Chuck went to kick up the stand when he felt the small bulge in his jeans pocket. The bracelet. It was all he needed to boost his bravery. He turned back and walked up to her again. "You know, you're right, I should mind my own business. I've never been very good at that. But really, I just want to be your friend. Is that so bad? So, I'm going to give you another chance." He reached out his hand to her, "Hi, I'm Chuck."

Becky looked down to his proffered hand, hesitating. For a moment Chuck was afraid she would turn away. But then she looked up at him, right into his eyes and after a heartbeat he saw her jaw relax and her eyes soften, just a little. And then the most amazing thing happened. She smiled. Not a big smile, but a small crooked smile that made his stomach flip.

She reached out and shook his hand. "Becky," she supplied.

"Yes," Chuck said, "Becky Franco of the Amazing Francos. You know, I've heard of you."

She laughed at that, and Chuck loved the sound.

"The pleasure is all mine," she answered.

"So," Chuck said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "Do you want a soda or something? I know a place."

"Um…" Becky glanced around.

"That is, unless you like hotel dumpsters. I can understand that, I find them very cool myself."

Becky laughed. "No, no, a soda sounds great," she answered.

Chuck smiled. "Great."


	3. Chapter 3

_The Knife Thrower Chapter 3. By MSB_

* * *

><p>It took a little convincing to get Becky to sit on his bike's handlebars. But once she felt stable, and trusted him when he promised to go slowly, they did fine. Chuck was glad when they got to his intended destination, a park only a few blocks away. It wasn't like she was heavy or anything, but the sun was hot and he was feeling a little out of breath.<p>

Becky seemed glad to have her feet back on solid ground. Chuck walked his bike across the basketball court with its cracked cement and netless hoops, and leaned his bike against the chain link fence.

Her eyes were questioning, but she didn't say anything as he led her across the grass to a small covered pavilion with picnic benches. Around the corner, he could hear the hum of the Coke machine.

Chuck swung off his backpack and fished around in the front pocket. Pushing in some coins, soon he was holding a Coke in his hand.

"What'll you have?" he asked.

"This is the soda you promised me?" Becky asked in a disbelieving tone.

"The coolest drinks in town," Chuck assured her.

Looking around, Becky seemed to consider her choices. She walked around to the side of the machine as if she were looking for something. "I can't believe you can reach the power cord," she said. "People around here are so gullible."

"Yeah, so what?" Chuck said, trying not to be offended.

"Now we can get free soda, that's what." She bent over to reach for the cord. "Now, when I say 'three', put your quarters in and hold the coin return button…"

Chuck, a little surprised that she would even know how to do this, reached over and took Becky by the arm. "Hey, that's okay. I have the money." He gently pulled her around to the front. "Anyway, if we do it that way, how will I get brownie points for buying you a soda?" He smiled, hoping that she wouldn't be offended at him not wanting to steal from the machine. To his great relief she smiled back.

"Root beer please," she said.

"A&W? A fine choice." Chuck's two quarters clinked as he pushed the button. "Though, I thought you'd be more of a Cherry Coke kind of girl." He reached down and pulled out the soda, cold and damp, and handed it to her.

Chuck picked up his own can. "Do you want to sit?" Becky headed for one of the picnic tables. "No, not here. Follow me," Chuck said.

He led her out of the pavilion, across the grass, towards a playground where a few children played on the slide and monkey bars. Finding a spot in the shade, Chuck sat down on the cement curb surrounding the play area, and then gestured for Becky to sit as well. "Me and Morgan hang out here all the time," he said.

"Morgan? That kid you were with last night?"

"Yep."

"President of the audio whatever club?"

"Audio Visual Club, and yeah, that's him."

"You've been friends long?" Becky asked.

"Since third grade."

"You're lucky," Becky said.

Chuck balanced his Coke on the curb and started to untie his shoes. "I know, right?"

"Rock in your shoe?" Becky asked, pulling the tab on her drink. The can hissed.

Chuck smiled. "No, this is part of it." He pulled off his shoes, and with one stroke each, his tube socks, and then burrowed his feet deep into the cool playground sand.

"Go ahead," he said to Becky.

"Go ahead, what?"

"Come on, take off your shoes. You'll love it."

Becky shook her head. "You are the strangest person I've ever met." But a heartbeat later she cocked her head to the side, shrugged a little, and then started to take off her shoes. She sighed as she wiggled her feet into the sand.

"See? I told you, you'd love it," Chuck said.

Becky smiled. "Just like a day at the beach."

"Have you gone much?" Chuck asked.

"To the beach? A few times. I like Florida the best. The water is so warm and the sand is white, like sugar."

"Florida? Wow. I've never been there."

"Yeah, my dad and I've been everywhere." Becky put down her drink and started to push the sand into a pile around her feet.

"Is your dad a salesman or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," she said flatly.

"Have you been to Boston or New York?"

"I just told you. I've been everywhere." She started to push sand around her ankles

"Have you been up in the Statue of Liberty?"

"No. But I've seen it from Manhattan. My dad isn't big on boats."

"I've always wanted to go up in the Statue of Liberty. I've heard you can see the whole city from there."

Becky only smiled and kept pushing sand.

"I wish you could still go up in the torch though. That would be cool. But they shut it down like sixty years ago, after an explosion. They said it wasn't strong enough. It's only a hundred and fifty feet tall you know."

"The torch?" Becky asked.

"The Statue of Liberty," Chuck said. "People think it's taller, but it's only because of the pedestal. It's a hundred and fifty feet too, so it makes it seem much taller than it really is."

"It looked tall to me," Becky offered.

"But half of that tallness is really just the base. If you took the statue itself and put it in middle of New York City it would be dwarfed by the other buildings. Like half the size." Chuck gestured the sizes with his hands for emphases. "But they put it on that tall pedestal, and then out on the island in the ocean, and then it looks tall. So… yeah…That's why it looks tall, but it really isn't…that tall." Chuck cleared his throat and took a long drink from his can.

Becky only nodded as she tamped down the sand all around her feet. She wiggled her toes and the sand cracked and shifted. "Do you go much?" she asked.

"To New York? No, I told you. I've never been."

"No, I mean, to the beach," Becky clarified.

"Oh. No. I used to. My mom would take Ellie and me when I was really little. Elle, that's my older sister. She'd take Ellie and me every summer. Before… you know."

"Sounds nice."

Chuck sighed. "Yeah. The parts I can remember."

"I don't have brothers or sisters," Becky offered.

"No?"

"Just me and my dad."

"I used to think Ellie was a pain. But then when mom left… she really stepped up. Ya know? She didn't have to, but she did. And with dad so busy all the time…" Chuck took the last drink from his can, and crushed it in his hand.

"You're lucky to have her."

"Yeah," Chuck agreed.

Chuck looked out over the playground. Some kids were racing each other around and around on the slide while a dad sat on a nearby bench. His dad would have never taken him to the park. His dad was home a lot, but not really ever home. Chuck felt a nudge at his side. He turned and looked and saw Becky's smiling face looking up at him. He smiled back.

"Talk to me, Chuck," she said. "What 'cha thinking about?"

"Just about my dad."

"What about him?"

"Just that I miss him. I know that sounds crazy, because he's right here. I mean, he's probably at home right now. But I see other families, like that one right there, those kids playing, and I think that my life has never been like that." Chuck picked up a stray twig and started to break it between his fingers. "Don't get me wrong. He's great. Really great. And I know he loves me and Ellie. It's just that there is a part of him that is never with us. It's like his mind is always on his work. It's been worse since mom left."

Becky looked out in the direction of the children playing for a long time. When she looked back to him, it was like her eyes were sparkling in the light filtering down through the tree branches.

"He doesn't know what he's missing," she finally said.

Chuck didn't know what to say to that, so he just acknowledged it with a nod and a smile.

"Here you are!" Chuck heard Morgan's voice from behind. He turned to see Morgan striding towards them. "I've been looking all over for you. I thought we had a Wolfenstein 3D date this afternoon." Morgan seemed to notice Becky for the first time. "Oh, hi. Becky right?"

"Morgan," Chuck growled, "I told you I was busy."

"You're not busy. You're just sitting there," Morgan observed.

"I ran into Becky here, and I was… I was showing her around. That's what good neighbors do. They show new neighbors… old… neighborhood stuff."

Morgan squinted his eyes. "Okay. I see what's going on here."

"Good," Chuck said. "Go on then. I'll see you later."

"No, It's fine, Chuck. She can come. I only have two joysticks, but she can watch. Or you guys could take turns."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "No, Morgan…"

"I need to get going, anyway," Becky interrupted. She quickly pulled her feet out of the sand and reached for her shoes. "I'm sure my dad is wondering where I am. It was nice seeing you again, Morgan. Thanks for the soda, Chuck." She turned and hurried down the sidewalk.

After watching her turn the corner and out of sight, Chuck turned to his friend. "Morgan!" he said angrily.

Morgan looked shocked. "What?!"


	4. Chapter 4

_The Knife Thrower Chapter 4. By MSB_

* * *

><p>"And that's a wrap!" Mrs. Benson said, clapping her hands together. "Great rehearsal everyone. I'm sure we'll bring down the house tomorrow night. If you have a mic turn it into Chuck back there behind the sound board, and remember, silent auction at six, curtain by seven - sharp!"<p>

The actors and musicians started to pack up their equipment and passed Chuck as they trickled out the back door. Chuck busily unplugged cables so he could lock the sound board away for the night.

He felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Here."

He turned and _she_ was standing there; Becky, with her sparkling blue eyes and toothy half smile that seemed to make his heart pound. She was in the same white ruffled shirt he had seen her in that first time, her costume, he guessed, but this time her blonde hair fell, cascading over her shoulders and loose around her face. It made her look older, he decided, and softer, more approachable. Or maybe that was because he had started to get to know her a little better. Their short outing to the park a few days before had started to peel back the first layers to this mystery that was Becky Franco.

"Here," she repeated, thrusting a headset towards him.

"Oh, thanks." He took it.

"And this one," she took the battery pack from her waist and handed it to him, took head set from behind her ear, and then started to snake the cord out from under her shirt.

Chuck felt his face get hot, and immediately turned, though in the shadows of the theater she probably couldn't even see.

"Uh, thanks." He took the last of the microphone from her. "Good job tonight, by the way."

Now it was Becky's turn to look away. "Thanks."

"That one your dad does, with the doves, that's pretty cool."

"No it's not," she said honestly, "but thanks anyway."

"Sure," he said turning back to his sound board, wanting to say more, but not knowing what to say.

"I liked the strobe light in that dance group number," she said.

"Thanks. Morgan was running the lighting."

"But you helped set it up."

Chuck shrugged. "It's just plugs and stuff."

Just then, the theater doors opened and a sandy haired, middle aged man stepped into the doorway.

He looked around for a second, spotted Chuck and walked over to him.

"Chuck! Are you ready to go?"

Chuck looked up to see his father. "Almost, dad. Just let me pack away this last mic and I'll be done. I'm not sure what Morgan is doing."

"Morgan!" Chuck's dad called out.

"Almost done, Mr. B.," a voice called back from across the theater. "Just have to unplug the extension cord in the bathroom."

"Well, Chuck, guess I'll see you tomorrow," Becky said as she turned to leave.

"Becky. Hey. Wait," Chuck called after her.

She looked back to him.

"Do you want to come and have pizza at my place? Morgan and I haven't had dinner yet and I'm sure my dad won't mind." He turned to his dad. "Will you dad?"

Chuck's dad smiled. "Of course not. But introduce me to your new friend first."

"Oh. Right. Dad, this is Becky Franco. Becky, this is my dad, Stephen Bartowski."

"You can call me Steve," Stephen said as he thrust out his hand.

Becky smiled shyly, but took the proffered hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you."

Chuck rocked a forward on his feet. "So, pizza?"

"Yeah, I have to ask my dad," she said tentatively.

Stephen pointed to the magician packing the last of his gear on the stage. "Is that him? I'll go introduce myself."

And before she could say anything more, Chuck's dad had jogged down the aisle towards her father. It was decided.

Chuck opened the door to his dad's old Ford Maverick and tripped the front seat and slid it forward to gain access to the back. He made a 'ladies first' gesture that made Becky smile shyly as she climbed into the back seat. "Oh, thanks, Chuck," Morgan said as he quickly scrambled in after her. Chuck growled as he slid the front seat back into place, a little harder than he intended as it hit into Morgan's knees, and climbed in the front seat.

As they pulled up to his house, Chuck wondered what the small white rambler looked like through Becky's eyes. She had traveled all over the country, and suddenly the over grown yard, and the scattered basketballs and empty drink cups embarrassed him. Ellie, his older sister, had taken over most of the house work when his mother left but it was Chuck's job to take care of the yard. He hadn't gotten around to mowing for awhile, and the bushes hadn't been trimmed at all this season. At least he knew the inside of the house was going to be somewhat clean. Ellie was really busy with school but still she managed to take care of things.

Chuck was again thwarted at the door opening, as his dad let Becky out of the car on his side and ushered her up the walk. "Make yourself at home, Becky," he said as they entered the house and made their way to the kitchen. "There are sodas in the fridge."

"Awesome!" Morgan exclaimed and made a bee-line to the refrigerator and yanked it opened. "Chuck, Coke," he said, tossing a can to Chuck. "And Becky…"

"Rootbeer" she and Chuck said at the same time. Chuck laughed, and she smiled looking away from him to the floor.

"…uh…right," and he grabbed another can and swung back his arm to toss it. Chuck's quick negative head shake stopped Morgan mid swing; he took the few steps forward and handed the can to her. "Here ya go."

Stephen picked up the phone. "What do we want on our pizza?"

"Everything! Like you even have to ask, Mr. B!" Morgan answered enthusiastically.

Stephen turned to his son. "Chuck?"

Chuck shrugged. "Everything's fine with me. "

"Becky?" Stephen turned to her.

"That's fine, Mr. Bartowski. Thank you."

"One supreme with everything it is," Stephen said and he dialed the phone.

Morgan rubbed his hands together. "I can't wait. And my mom said I could stay 'til ten, "Morgan looked at his large calculator watch, "that gives me almost two whole hours to kick your butt on the Sega."

"Sounds good," Chuck agreed. "If, that's okay with you, Becky. Unless you want to do something else?"

"No, Sega sounds fine. I haven't played much, so you'll have to show me what to do."

"Great," Chuck said. "Finally Morgan might have a chance to beat someone," Chuck said, giving his friend a little shove.

"Oh that's it, Chuckles. You are so going down!" Morgan shoved him back.

"Says you," Chuck responded in his face.

"Lead the way, my friend," Morgan said, gesturing towards the living room. "Lead the way to your doom!"

"Don't mind if I do," Chuck said. He grabbed Becky's hand and pulled her down the hallway, and Morgan followed right after.

He hadn't really thought about it when he did it. Reaching for Becky's hand was the most natural thing in the world. She never had been to his house before; she didn't know where they were going; obviously, he'd need to show her. Not that his house was big enough to get lost in or anything. But he was just being a good host. Yes, that was it, a good host, showing his guest the way to the living room. But now that they were there, and his guiding hand was no longer needed, he found that he didn't really want to drop the small warm hand that he held in his. Though he didn't dare meet her eyes, he kept holding onto her hand, and she didn't pull it away. Morgan pulled out the console and the controllers from under the television. It wasn't until Morgan thrust the controller to Chuck that he regretfully let go of Becky's hand. He looked at her then, and she looked at him back. He thought he saw a little disappointment there, behind her blue eyes, when he had dropped her hand, but she was so unreadable that he wasn't sure.

"Do you want to go first?" he said, offering the controller to her.

"I'll just watch, for now," she said and turned to sit on the couch.

The controller didn't quite reach the couch and Morgan had already taken the banana chair, so Chuck regretfully took a spot on the floor, wishing he could sit closer to his guest.

After multiple rounds of _Street Battle_ Chuck had only won once. Morgan whooped that he was on a roll, but Chuck didn't care, because he was too busy sneaking peeks at Becky and watching her in his peripheral vision. The pizza had come and he noticed the small pile of olives at the side of her plate. He wondered why she hadn't just said something about her olive aversion in the first place. She was just a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out. She seemed truly interested in the game, watching attentively, and when things got particularly exciting he noticed she bit the corner of her lip absentmindedly. "Okay," he said, turning to her, "your turn."

"No, Chuck, I don't…"

"Yes, you do. It will be fine. Morgan will take it easy on you."

"Right-o," he said, giving her a little salute.

He held out the controller to her and she looked at him a moment, considering, and then shrugged one shoulder and cocked her head to the side. "Okay."

She left her spot on the couch and knelt down beside Chuck on the floor. "First you have to choose a character," Chuck said clicking a few buttons on the controller.

She looked up at the pixilated characters on the screen. "There aren't very many girl choices are there?"

"No, sorry," Chuck said sheepishly.

"You basically get to choose if you want to have blonde hair or brown hair," Morgan added.

"Okay, that should be easy enough. How do I select?"

Chuck pointed to the button and Becky pushed it. "There."

"Now you have to name your character," Chuck explained.

"What do I name her?"

"Whatever you want," Chuck answered.

"I'm always Obi-Wan," Morgan declared.

"Obee who?" Becky asked.

"Never mind," Chuck said. "Just choose anything."

"What's your character's name?" she asked Chuck.

"Lately I've been playing Walker," Chuck said.

"Walker?" Becky asked.

"Yeah, because I play the cowboy character, so I thought Walker was a good name." She still looked at him, confused.

"You know, like Walker, Texas Ranger?" Morgan added, hopping to prompt some recognition.

When she still didn't understand Chuck said, "It's a TV show. Wow, you don't watch a lot of TV do you."

"Sorry, not really," Becky said.

"He's this tough marshal who always goes around kicking people's butt and bringing bad guys to justice. That kind of thing."

"Hey, always thought that blonde girl," Morgan said pointing to the character Becky had selected on the screen," looked like Walker's girlfriend, Alex. You could name your character Alex, Becky."

Becky wrinkled her nose. "I don't think so."

"Well how about the actress, what was her name..?" Morgan asked "…Stephanie? Sherrie? Sammie?"

Becky's eyes widened at this last name, but she didn't say anything.

"Sarah?" Chuck asked. "Sarah Wilson?"

"I don't think that's right," Morgan said.

"Sarah's good," Becky said quickly.

"Nawh, that's too boring," Morgan said, "You need something more kick butt, like Silver Falcon, or a Chun-Li."

"I don't know, I kind of like Sarah," Chuck said.

Becky smiled. "You think so?"

Chuck looked at her with a critical eye. She was thin, that was true, but there was something strong about her, her personality, or something behind her eyes, those eyes that had seen so much more of the world than Chuck had, that made her seem strong. "It suits you," he finally said.

Becky nodded and Chuck showed her how to move the thumbstick up and down to select the letters to spell the name.

"Now," Chuck said, "You move the stick to go forward and back. This button is for kick, punch, and the button on bottom is for jump. Got it?"

She pointed to the buttons in turn, "Kick, punch, jump. Got it."

"Okay, Becky, I'll take it easy on you the first," Morgan said, starting the game.

As the music played and the words "Fight!" appeared on the screen, Becky fumbled with the controller.

Morgan's character punched Becky's to the ground.

"Punch!" Chuck prompted. "Kick!" "Punch!"

"I'm trying," Becky said, franticly pushing at all the buttons.

Morgan's character flattened Becky's character again.

"Duck, when he does that!" Chuck said.

"Duck?" Becky said, "You never showed me how to duck."

"Oh, I didn't," Chuck exclaimed. He reached around her back and pointed to the buttons. "Push that one and that one at the same time."

Becky's character was hit again. "Which ones?"

Chuck leaned closer and put his right hand over hers on the controller. "See, when Morgan's guy does that spin kick, you have to duck," he pushed his fingers down over hers, pushing the buttons and causing her character to duck just in time. "or you're going to get knocked out."

"Like this?" she asked, pushing the buttons.

"Yeah, but it takes timing. You see when his character shifts his weight back like that? Then you know." He paused just a second before pressing his fingers down on hers again, pushing the buttons, and causing her character to duck. A few more presses of Chuck's fingers and Morgan's character was on the ground.

"Oh," she said, turning to look up at him. It was then that Chuck became aware of his arm wrapped around her, the warmth of her hand under his, and her face just inches from hers. He looked into her blue eyes and swallowed. He was sure she could see his adam's apple bobbing nervously.

"Got ya!" Morgan exclaimed excitedly, as the video game music played the victory music. Chuck looked up to see Morgan's character strutted and flexed on the screen.

"Looks like I lost," Becky said.

"Uh, yeah," Chuck said, letting go of her hand and leaning away.

Becky looked at him for a second more, her face a mask, and then turned back to the TV screen. "Another go, Morgan? I deserve another shot. I'm just learning ya' know."

"Alright then," Morgan said, not noticing anything that had passed between his friend and this new girl. "The little lady wants another go at the master! Let the games begin."

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks go to angelinthecrowd who gave this a once over for me.


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